MISSOULA — Former University of Montana football standout Jordan Tripp is returning to Grizzly football this fall.
Tripp will serve as part of Scripps Sports’ on-air broadcast team for games featuring the Griz this season, the company announced Wednesday. Joining Tripp in the booth will be play-by-play announcer Trey Bender. Kyle Hansen, a sports anchor and reporter for KPAX in Missoula, will continue his role as the sideline reporter.
The broadcast team for Scripps Sports’ Montana State games remains unchanged: Ben Creighton will handle play-by-play duties with Ty Gregorak serving as the analyst in the booth and Grace Lawrence as the sideline reporter.
Bender has called both college and professional sports for more than two decades, primarily on the ESPN platform but also for the Pac-12 Networks and FOX Sports. Bender has called NCAA events in football, basketball, baseball, softball, water polo, soccer, swimming, diving and beach volleyball. His past work also includes the NBA Summer League, WNBA contests and Arena Football.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO HEAR FROM JORDAN TRIPP:
Tripp, a Missoula native who played for the Grizzlies from 2009 through 2013, will be making his broadcasting debut. The former linebacker wore the legacy No. 37 for Montana and holds the program record for career fumble recoveries with 10. Tripp’s 10 forced fumbles are second-most in Griz history, and his 335 career tackles rank seventh in program history. He twice earned all-Big Sky recognition and was a first-team FCS All-American in 2013.
Following his UM career, Tripp was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons during a four-year pro career, appearing in 40 games and recording 23 total tackles.
"I’m really looking forward to the new opportunity," Tripp said. "It’s kind of fun to be on a different side of it. Have yet to get my feet wet, [but] I’m excited for the challenge, it’s going to be just that. Really excited to be connected, though, back with the Big Sky Conference and Montana football — some old faces, some new faces. It’s going to be really exciting. I think that from a week-to-week basis, it’s going to be fun to kind of dive in and get into the groove of things. I’m really excited."
Creighton, Gregorak and Lawrence are back for the second consecutive season as a team calling Montana State games. Creighton, who currently serves as a play-by-play broadcaster for Pac-12 Networks and ESPN+, and Gregorak, the former Montana and Montana State defensive coordinator, are entering their fourth season as a booth tandem.
Creighton has called a variety of sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and many others since 2020. Previously, he also served as the TV play-by-play voice of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock men’s basketball program between 2018-20 and called high school football state championship games in 2017 and 2018.
Gregorak, who coached at Montana from 2003-09 and 2011-15 and Montana State from 2016-18, has also filled in as a TV analyst on ROOT Sports. Lawrence is a sports reporter for KBZK in Bozeman.
The Big Sky Conference and Scripps Sports announced a five-year renewal of their partnership earlier this year, extending their relationship through at least the 2029-30 academic year. In addition to statewide coverage in Montana, Scripps Sports currently airs Big Sky games throughout the league’s footprint, with markets in Idaho, Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah.
This fall, Scripps Sports will televise 13 Big Sky Conference football games and six non-conference games featuring the University of Montana (10 games) and Montana State (10 games). The season will once again culminate with the Brawl of the Wild, which drew nearly 130,000 viewers across Scripps stations last year.
“We’re thrilled to kick off our extended Big Sky Conference partnership with a robust and talented on-air team at every level,” said Quinn Pacini, vice president of broadcast operations, Scripps Sports. “We’re looking forward to the fall and continuing to bring top-notch coverage of these games to Grizzlies and Bobcats fans.”
Additional details about this fall’s Big Sky Conference broadcast coverage will be announced at a later date. The Scripps Sports broadcast schedules for both Montana and Montana State are below.
